Carton with integral spout adjacent the edge

ABSTRACT

This is an improved carton for packing loose materials such as sugar.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,029,747 2/1936 Vemming et229/17 3,178,090 4/1965 Conne1l........ 222/528X 3,185,377 5/1965Moorem... 229/17 3,289,913 12/1966 Svenssom.......... 229/17 3,344,97210/1967 Robinson et a1. 229/17 3,362,612 l/1968Mohler......................... 222/528X Primary Examiner-Davis T.Moorhead Attorney-Marcus W. Dodd P. O. Box 526, Ann Arbor, Mich. 48107[21] AppLNo. 813,032 [22] Filed DJACENT Harry G. Mohler Apr. 3, 1969 THEEDGE 5 Claims, 10 Drawing Figs.

United States Patent [72.] Inventor [45] Patented Mar. 16, 1971 [54]CARTON WITH INTEGRAL SPOUT A ABSTRACT: This is an improved carton forpacking loose materials such as sugar.

, flnnmnn W N W ZH dZM 25m 2 MB m n u r u n a n u e U u S f l L 0 m C H5 m .m U I. F l. l. l. 2 1 0 5 5 5 .1 l.

PATENTEU NARI 6 l9?! SHEET 1 0F 2 4 y Q m @r M .M M

INVENTOR.

HARRY G. MOHLER ATTORNEY PATENTEU MAR I 6 l9?! SHEET 2 OF 2 INVENTOR.

HARRY c. MOHLER I'D'i/g,

A T TOR/V5) CARTON WITH ENTEGRAL SPOIJT ADJACENT Til-IE EDGE A containerblank is provided for producing the carton comprisinga plurality ofsidepanelshaving end flaps extended therefrom to form the top and bottomwalls of the carton. A first side panel has a region perforated todefine an openable hinged tab thereon adjacent the upper edge of thecarton. An integral appendage extends from an edge of the first sidepanel that is foldable to be disposed against the region of the openabletab to provide an integral movable spout when the carton is formed fromthe blank. The appendage comprises an end section for fixed registrationagainst said tab to provide a double wall portion of the movable spoutand an intermediate section which is foldable upon itself to form adouble wall closure flap. The closure flap is perforated to provide ahinged section which may be broken free to provide a door for readyaccess to the pouring spout. An appendage is provided on each of theside panels adjacent to said first panel having therein a cutawayportion to provide easy access to the door in the intermediate sectionof the appendage attached to the first panel.

There is thus formed a carton having a spout adjacent the upper edge ofthe carton, which spout may be readily opened by pushing a fingerthrough the top of the carton adjacent the spout and pulling the spoutportion outward so as to tear the perforations therearound. There isthus produced a spout formed integrally from the cardboard blank whichis adjacent to the top edge of the box so that all of the contents ofthe box may be readily poured through the spout.

There is thus provided a container for finely divided particles usuallyconstructed of cardboard or similar semirigid material which is providedwith an integrally formed spout through which its contents may bepoured, which carton is produced from a single flat cardboard blank.

SUMMARY OF PRIOR ART In my U.S. Pat. No. 3,184,137 entitled Carton WithIntegral Spout, I disclosed an improved carton of cardboard or similarsemirigid planar material provided with a movable pouring spout shapedfrom an integral part of the blank from which the carton is constructed.That invention provided a practical and inexpensive method ofconstructing a carton and its pouring spout from one piece of material,Whereas, previously such cartons had either required insertion of aspout device of metal or other material, after the carton had beenfolded and formed from its original flat blank or if integrallyconstructed, required the use of extensive and undesirable glueing andthe use of excess amounts of blank material for the constructionthereof.

It was later observed that it would be extremely beneficial to evenfurther reduce the cost of producing a carton with an integral spout,while at the same time simplifying the method of constructing the cartonand further providing a new and improved. spout incorporating newfunctional features. Thus, there was produced the invention described byUS. Pat. No. 3,362,612, Jan. 9, 1968, Carton with Integral Spout relatedfirst to a construction wherein a plurality of carton blanks were cutfrom a large piece of material by employing a design wherein the portionof blank material from which the spout appendage of each container blankis formed is cut directly from the are of material defining the body ofan adjacent container blank. Thus, there was provided a container blankwith an appendage that is an extension of a narrow end flap portionwhich is itself an extension of one of the narrower side panels of thecontainer blank. Such an arrangement results in considerable productionsavings and the formation of a more rigid carton sidewall area adjacentthe spout. Also, there was provided an integral spout which is not onlymovable, but reclosa ble after use so as to enable safe storage andpreservation of the remaining contents of the carton. The access doorconstitutes a double wall construction with inner wall portion thereof,having a wider expanse than the portion which is exteriorly exposed.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION This is a container for holding and dispensingfinely divided particles such as sugar. Such container being constructedof cardboard or similar semirigid material which is provided with anintegrally formed spout through which the contents may be poured andwhich'carton is produced from a single flat cardboard blank.

In accordance with my invention, I provide a container blank forproducing a carton comprising a plurality of side panels-having endflaps extended therefrom to form the top and bottom walls of the carton.In the container blank, which is preferably constructed of cardboard,there is provided a first side panel which has a region perforatedadjacent the upper fold line which region defines an openable tabadjacent the upper edge of the carton when the carton is assembled. Anintegral appendage extends from the upper edge of the first side panelthat is foldable, to be disposed against the region of said openable tabto provide a movable spout when the carton is formed from the blank. Theappendage comprises an end section for fixed registration against theperforated tab in said first panel to provide a double wall portion ofthis spout an intermediate section which is foldable'upon itself to forma double wall closure flap. The closure flap is perferated to provide ahinge section which may be broken free to provide a door for readyaccess to the upper edge of the pouring spout. The end flap on each ofthe side panels adjacent to said first panel have therein a cutawayportion to provide easy access to the door in the intermediate sectionof the closure flap attached to the first panel.

The invention itself will be understood'more fully from the followingdescription which when read in connection with the accompanying drawingsin which;

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a carton blank in accordance with apreferred embodiment of my invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the line 2-2 ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 2A is a showing in cross section of a portion of the wall of thecarton with the extension 20 folded back against the main panel 12.

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the carton blank shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4. is a partial crosssectional view in elevation of an assembledcarton in accordance with my invention with the spout closed.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view in elevation of a carton inaccordance with my invention with the spout open.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the line 643 ofFIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional plan view taken from above with thetop portion of the box removed.

FIG. 8 is a view in perspective of a finished carton in accordance witha preferred embodiment of my invention.

FIG. 9 is a partial showing in perspective partially cut away andpartially in cross section of the inside of panel T2, with the pouringspout open.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS As shown in l, I provide cartonblank from which a carton, in accordance with my invention, is produced.The carton blank comprises four carton side panels, 11, 12, i3 and 14.Extending along one longitudinal edge of the side panel 14 is a narrowstrip 16, which when the carton is folded to its final form, will beglued to the inner surface around the outer longitudinal edge of theside panel 11. The carton blank further comprises small foldover endflaps attached to the respective side panels.

Extending from the appendage panel 12 which is one of the narrow panels,I provide a spout forming appendage which extended from the panel.Further, in the panel 12, I provide a series of perforations defining ahinged door 1212, having its top adjacent the bottom of the appendagepanel. When the perforations are torn, the hinged door may be swungoutward rotating about the fold line at the bottom edge of the door.

The appendage extending from the panel 12, comprises an intermediatesection or spacer section 12a, which spaces the end of the appendageproperly distant from the end of the appendage panel 12. The appendagefurther comprises a spout section, which when the appendage is folded,will register with the door 12b in the panel 12 to form the innerportion or wall of the movable spout when the carton is finally formed.The sidewalls of the spout are formed by the wings on the spout sectionappendage. The appendage further comprises an anchor portion 21 at theend thereof for anchoring the end of the appendage to the panel 12.

The wings 20 of the appendage extend along parallel lines and then arecurved inward toward each other toward the end of the appendage, at anangle of approximately 45 to the vertical. By having the wings in thisconfiguration, the spout is allowed to move to a position ofapproximately outward and then is prevented from swinging further out.The fold lines 23, 24 are highly perforated or scored so as to beflexible. The cut iine 27 is provided so that the wings 20 will swingfreely with respect to the anchor tab 21.

As wili be seen in FIG. 2, the appendage is folded along the fold line30, so as to move the spout elements of the appendage into registrationwith the door defined in the panel 12. Glue portions 32, 34, 36 areprovided for attaching the appendage to itself and to the appendagepanel 12 and the door 12b in the appendage panel.

In the fiaps attached to panels H and 13 at the top of the panels, Iprovide cutaway sections 40, substantially semicircular in shape,adjacent the edge of the flaps, and generally centered. These cutawayportions 4i";= allow access to an access door 42 on top of the box. Theaccess door 42, is defined by perforations in the appendage and islocated so as to be adjacent to the upper end of the spout.

When the appendage has been folded and glued into position, the cartonis then folded and the flap 16 is sealed to the panel 11, and the endsof the carton are closed. There is thus formed a closed container,having an integral spout which may be easily broken free as shown inFIGS. 5, 7 and 8. The opening of the spout is accomplished by pressing afinger through the opening provided by the cutouts 40, breaking parts ofthe perforations around the upper access door 42, thereby obtainingaccess to the spout and pulling the spout outward.

There is thus provided a spout or a carton with an integrally formedspout, which spout is located at the edge of the box so that the entirecontents of the box may be readily poured from the box, and spout whichreadily swings outward for a limited angle of approximately 30 and wilinot move further.

Thus, there is no possibility of the spout swinging out so far that thewings clear the sides of the panel 12 and must therefore be reinserted,and also the spout does not come out far enough that its usefulness as aspout is eliminated.

I claim: 1. A blank for forming a multisided carton comprising: a. Aplurality of side panels having end flaps extended therefrom to form thetop and bottom walls of said carton; b. A first of said side panelshaving a region perforated to define an openable tab, thereon, adjacentthe upper edge of said carton; c. An integral appendage extended from anedge of said first panel that is foldable to be disposed against theregion of said openable tab to provide a movable spout when said cartonis formed from said blank; said appendage comprising an end section forfixed registration against said tab to provide a double-wall portion ofsaid movable spout;

a first intermediate section; and

a second intermediate section for fixed registration against said firstintermediate section to provide a double wall hinged closure tab whereinthe end section of said appendage comprises two wings for forming sidesof the finished spout, said wings having fold lines parallel in theregion of said spout and then extending inward at an angle ofapproximately 30 for a distance beyond the region of said spout.

2. Apparatus as described in claim 1, in that an anchor tab is providedat the end of said appendage.

3. Apparatus as described in claim 2, wherein said first and said secondintermediate sections have, perforated panels therein corporating toform an openable aperture for reaching the top of said spout.

4. Apparatus as described in claim 3, wherein openings are provided inthe end flaps attached to a second and a third side panel adjacent tosaid first side panel for providing access to said perforated aperture.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 folded and formed into a box.

1. A blank for forming a multisided carton comprising: a. A plurality ofside panels having end flaps extended therefrom to form the top andbottom walls of said carton; b. A first of said side panels having aregion perforated to define an openable tab, theReon, adjacent the upperedge of said carton; c. An integral appendage extended from an edge ofsaid first panel that is foldable to be disposed against the region ofsaid openable tab to provide a movable spout when said carton is formedfrom said blank; said appendage comprising an end section for fixedregistration against said tab to provide a double-wall portion of saidmovable spout; a first intermediate section; and a second intermediatesection for fixed registration against said first intermediate sectionto provide a double wall hinged closure tab wherein the end section ofsaid appendage comprises two wings for forming sides of the finishedspout, said wings having fold lines parallel in the region of said spoutand then extending inward at an angle of approximately 30* for adistance beyond the region of said spout.
 2. Apparatus as described inclaim 1, in that an anchor tab is provided at the end of said appendage.3. Apparatus as described in claim 2, wherein said first and said secondintermediate sections have perforated panels therein corporating to forman openable aperture for reaching the top of said spout.
 4. Apparatus asdescribed in claim 3, wherein openings are provided in the end flapsattached to a second and a third side panel adjacent to said first sidepanel for providing access to said perforated aperture.
 5. Apparatus asclaimed in claim 3 folded and formed into a box.